Retail

New store with lower prices than Checkers, Pick n Pay, and Spar

Daily Investor • 18 October 2026

Best Before, a retailer with lower prices than Checkers, Pick n Pay, and Spar, has opened a new store in Wonderboom, Pretoria.

This is the ninth Best Before outlet in Gauteng, extending the discount retailer’s reach to the north of Pretoria.

The new store complements those in Northcliff, Woodmead, Edenvale, Fourways, Krugersdorp, Boksburg, Centurion, and Atterbury.

The new Best Before Wonderboom store opened on Friday, 25 September 2026, and it was an instant hit.

“Our store opening rocked, and you guys were so patient with the long queues. We hope we made it as pleasant as possible,” the company said.

The popularity of the Best Before brand is closely linked to the affordability of its everyday products.

The retailer was founded by Mark Gordon and Alain Soriano in 2017, selling short-dated and past-dated products that are still high-quality and safe.

They buy large quantities of products around their best-before date, which they get at great discounts. These discounts are then passed on to consumers.

The short-dated and past-dated food and personal care products remain within their use-by dates, meaning they are safe to use.

The same concept is popular in countries like Europe and Australia. However, prior to the launch of Best Before, it did not exist in South Africa.

Gordon and Soriano are now shaking up the South African retail market by offering lower prices than traditional grocery stores.

A pricing comparison from last week showed that a basket of promotional goods from Best Before was 45% cheaper than Checkers and Pick n Pay.

A 21-product basket from a traditional retailer, on like-for-like products, cost R1,958, while similar products from Best Before cost R1,085.

Best Before is growing its presence across South Africa

The Best Before Wonderboom store launch forms part of Gordon and Soriano’s national expansion plans.

Earlier this year, Gordon told Daily Investor that South African consumers are under real pressure and looking for deals.

He said that much of the consumer pressure stems from the grocery industry, where prices have increased significantly in recent years.

Gordon said they found the big grocery stores’ Achilles’ heel: high prices, which they used to their advantage.

The trick was to find a way to offer the same products that major grocers stocked, but at a lower price. They achieved this through their short-dated and past-dated products.

The lower prices made the Best Before offering very appealing, allowing them to expand their presence in Gauteng.

“We started looking to find locations and a particular target market that we felt was under immense pressure, particularly in the food space,” he said.

Gordon added that although they know there is strong demand for Best Before across South Africa, they are strategic in how they expand.

“Our long-term strategy is to ensure that Best Before’s offering is good enough to expand into all provinces in South Africa,” he said.

He likened Best Before’s expansion strategy to the ripples that emanate after throwing a pebble in water.

“We dropped the pebble in Gauteng, and we want to own Gauteng properly. After that, we’ll start expanding into the various areas.”

However, it is not only about brick-and-mortar stores. At the end of last year, Best Before launched nationwide courier delivery.

Previously, its online shopping service was only available to Gauteng residents. However, it had always planned to roll this out to other provinces.

The retailer also has the option to collect their order from a Best Before store near them by selecting ‘collect from store’ during checkout.

“Collections and in-store transfers take up to 5 working days to prepare. Once your order is ready, you’ll be notified to pick up your goods hassle-free,” it said.